


Who could have guessed that love can really conquer all?

by VanyKruemelPendragon



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: AU, Bonding, Friends to Lovers, God just wants to help, I suck at tagging, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Love Confessions, M/M, Romance, because soul bonding, but still survive, just read it, they didn't swap bodies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 11:21:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20527175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanyKruemelPendragon/pseuds/VanyKruemelPendragon
Summary: The angel and demon survive their executions. But, what if they never swapped bodies and still survived? If neither could be hurt by hellfire or holy water? And what if that was merely a coincidence and nothing they actually planned?





	Who could have guessed that love can really conquer all?

**Author's Note:**

> This AU is based on the idea a friend had while watching the show for the first time and she totally missed the re-swap of bodies. So she stormed with ideas, why.  
And, I guess it got stuck in my head and now I wrote it.

Title: Who could have guessed that love can really conquer all?  
  
Summary: The angel and demon survive their executions. But, what if they never swapped bodies and _still _survived? If neither could be hurt by hellfire or holy water? And what if that was merely a coincidence and nothing they actually planned?  
  
Rating: P16 Slash  
  
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale  
  
Warnings: boyslove, AU, implied sexual content, some kind of bonding  
  
Genre: Friendship, Romance  
  
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett. I use the characters from the TV Show, so don‘t be confused if their appearance isn‘t like the books. I just took an existing scene and worked a little miracle, to make their relationship even more obvious. Because it‘s already there. This ship is canon.

#  ** ~*~*~ ** ** Who could have guessed that love can really conquer all? ** ** ~*~*~ **

The events of the last fifteen minutes replayed in front of his inner eye like a movie. An awfully directed, serious plot lacking horror movie. Like that _Scary Movie _crap. Which was meant to be a comedy, so that probably wasn‘t a correct comparison. At all. What was correct though was heaven and hell working together for the first… Scratch that, that was getting the apocalypse done. For the second time since beginning of time. For something this simple. Judging the traitors (who both saved the whole humanity, which should totally be HER wish or part of her damn ineffable plan at least).

Gangways. Crowley was being captured, after having to watch how Aziraphale, the soft angel, was taken back to heaven by force, not being able to do anything about it. And, to be brutally honest, that hurt more than anything hell could ever do to him. Because, it was just that simple. They would hurt him, they would execute him. Holy water, at least that was his guess. Nothing he would survive, a painful death. Hellfire though? It wouldn‘t melt Aziraphale like it would melt his flesh, making it drop from the bones until they would crack and crumble to ash.

Hellfire would burn him alive, make his blood boil, until his brain would explode, every organ would be cooked. Hellfire was way more painful and it sure was something he wanted to save his angel from.

Unfortunately, none of them had thought this execution would come so soon, or, at all. A body swap would have been able to save them both, make them laugh about it later. Like this? Not very likely he would ever see the sweet smile, the soft blonde curls, hea- he-… damn, even that awful cotton coat and the hilarious bow tie ever again.

But let‘s go back to the beginning of our story. No, not Eden, though it would be a great way to start. To the apocalypse; more exactly, the air base.  
Adam, standing in front of the four horsemen of apocalypse, with strength nobody would have thought he had, only his three best friends, a traitorous demon – more than he already was as, you know, a _demon_, and a fierce angel as backup.

Adam, telling his immortal father to back the fuck off, just to be punished by his… Foster dad? Willingly accepting everything to come, as long as his friends were save.

The five of them leaving the air base, to have Anathema and Newt leave again, hand holding like the couple they seemed to be.

That‘s where this story starts to go all wrong – or right?

Still shocked this crap actually _worked_ , Crowley turned around to Aziraphale, watching him intently. Some curls of his light hair were hanging into his face. His cheeks red from standing his man against _Gabriel_ of all arch-angels. The clothes in a disarray that showed his prior sudden movements. His lips slightly swollen from biting on them too much; a habit he seemed to adapt in early 19th century whenever he grew nervous. When someone wanted to buy a book no matter how rude he was. When he had to do hellish miracles for the sake of their arrangement.  
Focus, Crowley! Lips were bad.

„So...“, he said, pursing his lips. „We won, huh? Fancy a drink, Aziraphale?“

He felt the need to say the name, make one hundred percent sure the angel knew he was talking to him.

„Well, my dear. It would seem like a good idea. I still have that old wine we drank last time. Since both of us sobered up with a miracle?“

There was tension in the air, something that made both tiptoe around each other, now their task was done, now earth was saved. Both could feel it.  
A quick nod was everything Crowley was able to do as a response. He wanted to offer to drive, but… His bentley wasn‘t in the shape to do anything anymore.

„We could fly?“, the angel offered, slightly nervous himself when he noticed the look Crowley sent to the direction where his beloved car was.

Well, not beloved. A demon didn‘t love, after all.

So they did. Rising in the air, with their wings out, in a calm silence the flight was fast. A sob broke out of the pink lips of the smaller being though, as soon as they stood infront of the shop.

„I‘ll… go and fetch it from the cellar… I‘ll…“

Everything, every single fiber of his being made Crowley take a step forward, put his hand between the shoulder plates of his angel, made him step closer.

„I‘ll come with you. I‘m here, you know? If you ever need… A place to sleep, I guess… Even if you don‘t sleep. My flat will be open for you.“

The smile he received as an answer was a shaky one and it still made his heart stutter.

Bullshit. Demons‘ hearts didn‘t flutter. He told himself exactly that since… Well, if he was honest, since that day in the garden.

„Thank you, my dear. I would appreciate it.“

Crowley took his hand back, instantly missing the contact. Together they stepped into the burnt wood, walked the blackened floor, breathed the still slightly smokey air.  
Aziraphale kept his look straight to the backdoor, trying not to wince every time a former book, a piece of paper or anything like that, really, came into his view.

It was a short walk into the cellar where everything was alright, save from the fire. Still it felt like the walk to your execution. (We will come back to that feeling later.)

And then there were shaking hands, trying to take the bottle. Nearly crashing it.

Crowley carefully, slowly cupped the hands of the angel with his, stopping their horrible movements and saving the wine, probably.

The sob from earlier was back, now making the whole body shake, with tears blinding Aziraphales eyes.

What else could he do, than somehow comfort him? Demon or no demon, it broke his heart – the one not existing – to see his angel like that and made the redhead take the last step to hug him, bone crushingly tight. He didn‘t care about the tears soaking his shirt and jacket, didn‘t care about the wine anymore. Everything that mattered in this exact moment was the sobbing, crying mess of an angel in his arms, his whimpers, the attempt to calm him, somehow.

„Sssssh“, he nearly hissed, carefully stroking the blonde curls. „It‘ll be alright.“

„I- I don‘t think so“, the muffled voice hiccuped from his collarbone. „Everything‘s gone. Every book, every scroll. History, lost.“  
Another sob broke his words, fists clinching into the expensive material of the black shirt.

„It will. Somehow, it will. Work with me here, angel. I‘m trying to be optimistic.“

A half sob, half laugh broke from the blondes‘ lips, made Crowley breathe out a breath he didn‘t knew he kept.

„Wine sounds very… tempting right now“, the angel murmured, removing his face – and body – from the demons‘, trying desperately to smile.  
„Temptation‘s my middle name then. Come one, let‘s go to my place.“

With that he took the wine and turned around, knowing the angel was okay enough to follow.

„Doesn‘t start with a J, though.“

The laugh was unexpected, all the way it bubbled itself up in his lungs. The eyeroll was typically him.

He thought back to it, not even noticing the loud voices of the angels around him, a sad smile on his lips. Gabriel shouted something to the guards, making them move.

Everything in Aziraphale‘s mind though was Crowley. The soft demon, the one who always comforted him, the one who always made him smile. His best friend. His…  
A slight blush crept up to his cheeks when the thought crossed his mind. How one step of the redhead, back in the bookshop, just to hug him, seemed to melt everything he told himself the last millennia. Every doubt disappeared, so when he looked at him, still teary-eyed, to see the softest look on his face… He was happy. He had lost his books. He had lost a lot of history. But he still had Crowley.

The smile disappeared. Had. That‘s the correct word. Because he would be thrown into hellfire, because Crowley would be drowned in holy water. Because he would never see him again. And that just wasn‘t… _fair_.

Swallowing hard, he tried to keep his posture. No need for the angels to see his distress. And then he started to see a light, flickering. A pillar of fire, from the ground up to the ceiling of the official building. Crackling like the promise of death, mocking him.

They stopped. Arms disappeared. And Aziraphale stood there, staring at the flames, while an odd calm filled his mind. At least he would end where Crowley would end up too. He just hoped his demon wouldn‘t have to endure too much pain.

Taking one last breath, he looked at Gabriel.

When they arrived at the flat, a strange sense of home flooded Aziraphale. He wasn‘t here often, but it was so undeniably _Crowley_ with the plants and the modern furniture and the electronic, his heart would probably burst with joy if that was possible. _Living _here, with _Crowley_.

Said demon had already uncorked the bottle and took a large sip.

„Good stuff. I‘ll get you a glass then.“

Aziraphale then did something he wouldn‘t normally do. He took the hand of Crowley holding the bottle, enjoyed the touch for a few seconds and took the bottle from him. Before the demon could protest, he set it to his lips and took a sip from the bottle, too, wiping his mouth after.

„No need to. You‘d have to clean up afterwards.“

Not a single word left the lips of the redhead while just stared at his angel.

Aziraphale laughed.

„Oh, don‘t look at me like that. Just drink. We stopped the apocalypse, haven‘t we?“

Another gulp and he felt his courage rising even more. Maybe…

While the demon took the bottle, the blonde slowly stepped forward, lifted his hands and carefully got a hold of the sunglasses.

„I...“, his opponent wanted to say, but the words seemed to die in his throat when his yellow, snake like eyes focused on the blue ones.

„Please, stop me“, the angel whispered, letting his hands with the glasses sink down again, trapped in the intense look of those stunning eyes.

Stop him? No, that wasn‘t exactly high priority in the taller one’s mind. He tried to push his hope back with every fiber of his being, but it still came back stronger every time.

„What if I… don‘t?“

Instead of an answer, Aziraphale took a last deep breath and nearly crushed their mouths together. Well, he crushed his mouth to Crowley’s, who, after the second he stood frozen in shock, closed his eyes and _reacted_. Soft lips capturing those of the angel, sinfully amazing in their movements. The arms of the angel came to rest around his opponents shoulders while he pressed his whole body against the leaner one.

When smooth teeth carefully bit his lip, a whimper left his mouth, making Crowleys arms circle is waist.

They were an angel and a demon. Who needed to breathe anyways?

“Fuck”, the redhead managed after they eventually stopped for a moment. “You have _no_ idea how long I wanted to do this…”

A kiss wasn‘t exactly the end of it. Bodies, moving together like they hadn‘t waited six thousand years for this, completely in sync. Groans and moans filling the bedroom, only interrupted by occasional sweet talking.

When they became silent again, the blonde comfortably stuck in the arms of the taller being, the smile on both faces could have blinded anyone.

A confident smile tucked at the demons lips, broke broke with a sigh while he hugged his angel closer, his eyes falling shut.

To say it was a shock he not only slept without nightmares but also _slept with Aziraphale _ was an understatement if there ever was one. But, a happy shock.  
Not so happy was seeing that damn angel captured. Worse after what they shared.

So of course, when he came to halt in the cellar room that looked like one of those police rooms with demons watching the execution, his mind still was with his angel, begging… Everyone, silently of course, to make it at least a quick death without pain. Maybe the hellfire would listen?

„Do you have anything to say, before we take vengeance on you?“, Beelzebub asked, not hiding her joy.

„What‘s it going to be?“ He knew the answer. But maybe… Time would help? „An eternity in the deepest pit?“

„You know we‘re going to do something even worse. Letting the punishment fit the crime...“

Hastur. So he was still mad about that thing with Ligur then.

The elevator dinged, a holy power streaming from the doors. Something tickled, a pressing feeling in his head and body. Something he never felt.

„Holy water“, someone stated the obvious but Crowley didn‘t see anything anymore, nothing more than the angel stepping in, his mind offering him even a name.

He watched every drop fall into the tub, gulped.

Some demon was thrown in to test it, no big deal. The redhead was shaking now, very slightly but shaking nonetheless.

The test-demon screamed out loud, died in a horrible gargling sound. It made his gut clench.

„With one act of treason… You averted the war.“

Disappointment could be heard in the words of the arch-angel. Pity.

„Well, I think the greater good...“

Maybe… logic could help?

„Don‘t talk to me about the greater good, sunshine, I‘m the arch-angel fucking Gabriel.“

Well, at least the… Logic? Made him mad. So that was something.

„Lovely… Knowing you all. Maybe we‘ll meet on a better occasion.“

The hellfire crackled louder. Still, the heat was missing. There was only a slight tickling, starting in his brain as a pressure, moving all over his body. No heat though.

„Shut your stupid mouth“, Gabriel said, losing his patience, „and die already.“

The smile he forced on his facial features wasn‘t very honest nor comforting. Not like Crowley’s smile comforted him. Not like the unsure look in those beautiful yellow eyes he saw, the open heart and sight to the soul of his demon before he kissed him, the longing, the…

He shifted his stand. Well, at least he had nice thoughts in the end. Died with a smile and love in his heart.

The poets would be proud.

And proud the fire stood, shining even brighter. The sound wasn‘t mocking anymore. It tried to be... comforting?

Last deep breath and he stepped into the flames.

Gabriel grimaced; he felt the burning heat from where he stood.

Crowley nodded, stripped down to his underwear – a bodysuit he wore since in those pants, seams of shorts weren‘t very pleasant, were they? - and took a deep breath.  
Aziraphale. His eyes. His lips. His smile. He should at least die with a happy thought then. Better die with a boner than die a virgin, in his opinion at least.

„I‘m sorry“, he murmured, as silent as he could. Nobody heard him anyways with the crowd going wild. „That I couldn‘t tell you I love you.“

With those last words, he stepped into the tub, letting himself sink into the water. Waiting for the pain to come.

It didn‘t. Surprised he opened his eyes, looking at the water. Only tickling. So, if he didn‘t die...

Relaxing he leaned back, making himself comfortable. The crowd suddenly was dead silent.

„There isn‘t a chance that somewhere in the nine circles of hell, somewhere, is a rubber duck? No?“

To his own amusement, he managed to sound deeply sad about that while on the inside he was only thinking about, if he survived, maybe Zira would…

A smile began to form. He had to get out of here.

„I know you wonder… If he can do this… What else can he do? And very very soon… You‘ll all get the chance to find out.“

Because Anthony J Crowley is and has ever been a bastard in the first place. Seeing Beelzebub so scared was amazing. Perfect. He was a minor demon, but right now he held power.

Hastur was pissed as it seemed, as he stepped forward.  
„He‘s harmless, we can take him. One demon against all of hell? What he‘s gonna do?“

Beelzebub though seemed truly concerned.  
„Shut it!“, she told the Lord, making him flinch. „As matter of that, we could be having a riot.“ Stepping forward, she addressed everyone behind the glass. „Nothing to see here, go away.“

They moved away. The angel stepped back in, bringing the can she transported the water in.

„I came back to bring the… oh…“ Unsure, she looked at Crowley. Even more confused when the demon she was told to execute turned to face her.

„Michael!“  
He grinned. Then he rose from the tub, making everyone take a few steps back. Perfect.

No heat. Just tickling.

Irritated he frowned. Well, that was strange, even if it was a nice development. He checked his body, to be sure. Nothing. But the tickling was nice, seemed to resolve the strain in his back. Aziraphale rolled his shoulders before looking at the angels in the room with him, everyone with a shocked face, pale like death. Like the skin underneath Crowley’s clothes.

His worry refocused on his demon. If he was alive…

He wanted to ask the angels if he could go now. Opened his mouth.

Out came a flame, not words. The angels moved backwards, so still a win and slowly he stepped out too, without any harm.

„It may be worse than we thought...“, Gabriel mumbled, trying to keep his posture.

The blonde stepped forward even more.  
„You know, if that‘s all… I‘ll be going then. We‘ll see each other on a better occasion then. Greetings to HER.“

Feathers swirled around him as he moved himself back to earth, back to the flat.

The flat where a nervous Crowley was waiting for him, jumping up and hugging him hard as soon as he was fully materialised. On instinct he threw his arms around his opponent too.

„I was so scared they would hurt you“, he murmured, face in the redhead‘s collarbone. „Have you any idea why we survived?“

The demon just shook his head, still not letting his angel go.

„No… And… Zira, I don‘t care. The only thing I could think about was how much I regret now having told you how I feel. How much I lo-… How much…“ Frustrated he stepped back, one hand still on the shoulder of the smaller being.

The blonde smiled, caressed the cheek of his former enemy with a careful stroke.

„I know. I love you, too.“

A breath he didn‘t know he was holding – something becoming quite the habit around his friend… Lover… whatever – left his lips and he finally smiled too.

„Alright. Any ideas?“

In that moment, a single grey shimmering feather fell down from the ceiling, becoming a letter when Crowley catched it.

The word _letter_ may be very strong. It was more of a card, really.

‚_I wanted to thank you properly for saving my creations. Since the boy restored your posessions I wanted to give you something more valuable. You‘ve bonded in soul the moment you opened your hearts yesterday. So many things can happen in seven days, but you only needed this one night. You‘re both angel and demon now, a new creation. Don‘t waste it.‘_

Irritated, they both looked at each other.

„SHE… what?“, was everything a speechless Aziraphale could murmur.

If it wasn‘t for the hissing laugh that escaped the demons lips, he wouldn‘t believe it. Both wouldn‘t.

„You think they‘ll be leaving us alone now?“

„I guess… You know, you‘re actually… At heart… Just a little bit… A good person.“

The smile on the angel‘s lips made Crowley grin too, putting both arms around his opponents hips again.

„And if you weren‘t deep down… just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing.“

The kiss they shared was soft and sweet, nothing like the hungry kiss last evening. It was so much more than that.

And it ended way sooner, with Aziraphale of all people taking the bottle, sipping of the rest in the bottle, giving it to… his _soulmate_, probably.

„To us. To the world.“

Crowley sipped too.

„But mostly to us. Dinner?“

And if there wasn‘t even a slightest change in their dynamics, nobody mentioned it, at all. They were Crowley, the demon, and Aziraphale, the angel, since a small eternity. And they would be Crowley and Aziraphale for another one. Until the next big event would start.

The End.

**Author's Note:**

> I am very unsure about this. I mean, I guess it's okay. But I still don't know if they're in character or if made everything clear or if there are plot twists or mistakes or something. Please tell me what you think?  
Also, Kudos very appreciated. <3


End file.
